Tunisia has long been recognized for its progressive attitude toward women. The country is seen as a pioneer for women’s rights in the Arab world; however, most Tunisian women still lead a life of much abuse and harassment.

Strides were made last week when Parliament passed a measure barring violence against women in Tunisia. This makes such violence easier to prosecute and penalizes sexual harassment in public spaces. In addition, it calls for the training of police and judges on how to handle such domestic abuse.

Tunisia has already pioneered legal action against this harassment, and this new measure demonstrates that the country is continuing to make progress. Tunisia is addressing not only the physical violence but also the psychological distress and economic discrimination that comes with domestic abuse.

These laws provide women with the tools for protection. With this landmark step for women’s rights in the Arab world, it becomes up to Tunisian authorities to gather adequate funding and political action to translate legislation into genuine protection.

Tunisia paints a picture of progress for women’s rights that all countries should replicate. By extending to more indirect forms of harassment, such as psychological and economic abuse, Tunisia is bringing awareness to less explicit but key elements of domestic violence.

The law also addresses preventative measures and survivor assistance. It directs the Health Ministry to provide training for medical staff on how to identify and prevent domestic abuse as well as requires the assistance of domestic abuse survivors through legal, medical and mental health support.

These measures portray an effort for development and sustainability by Tunisia, as they look beyond just the violence and extend to prevention and assistance. Tunisia presents an opportunity for major progress not only in its own culture but also across the globe.

By taking action against this cultural issue, Tunisia proves its commitment to the progression of women’s rights and sets a standard for other nations to follow.

Recent reports state that of the developed nations around the globe, poverty in Israel is a serious problem and has been steadily increasing for some time. Roughly one in five individuals living within the country currently suffers from lack of fiscal resources.

Many organizations view poverty in Israel as an even greater problem for the future, and are seeking solutions that would possibly alter the current trends.

The most prevalent issue surrounding this problem is the plight of children. Almost 33 percent of Israeli children are affected by this deficit of monetary possessions within their own families. In addition, budgeting issues may result in the government closing schools.

These statistics are especially worrisome, as they denote a significant loss in future human capital.

The Arab population suffers the most from these issues. However, the proportion of newborns among Arabs is increasing. Meanwhile, the proportion of births within the statistically more monetarily stable Jewish community are decreasing.

The Taub Center for Social Policy Studies in Israel (TCSPS) recently provided a brief on policy changes and improvements that would likely change the course of poverty in Israel.

The data that the organization presents suggests that Israel is falling behind the world’s advanced industrial nations economically. However, the nation could change the pattern to raise its average standard of living once more.

The report begins by outlining that Israel’s GDP has consistently grown since its establishment in 1948. However, this growth has averaged out to be 20 percentage points less than the average developed nation.

For the first two decades, Israel rapidly closed the gap between its lifestyle and the leading developed countries of the world. But in 1972, the growth lost some momentum and Israel began to fall behind.

To change this pattern and decrease individual poverty in the process, the TCSPS outlines three steps that Israel must take.

1. Israel must create incentives and provide tools

The incentives that Israel should create involve a support tax for those with low income. They would also incorporate a decrease the income tax for families with children by a certain proportion per child.

This form of incentive will give parents more incentive to work since they will not be taxed as heavily for their efforts, indeed that they may be paid by the government for their labors if their income falls below a certain amount.

TCSPS points out that these incentives will not help if the individuals in question don’t have the necessary qualifications to obtain work. With this in mind, the government should lean heavier subsidies toward second chance basic education programs and vocational training. If the people become empowered, they will find a way to pull themselves out of poverty.

2. Israel must create a supporting environment

Even if the parents of families have the tools to succeed on their own, the quality of their environment is also crucial. The cycle of poverty will continue if the current environment remains.

To relieve these impediments, the government should emphasize longer school days and after-school activities for children. In addition, the government should give equal opportunity to women and minorities and provide more public transportation.

3. The government must create a long-term strategic plan

TCSPS concludes that the previously proposed actions will take a good deal of time to bring to realization. They also say that the government should be prepared to develop plans which would bolster the educational, vocational, welfare and employment systems.

TCSPS affirms that the funds are available and currently supporting the civilian population. However, a revitalization of assistance programs would cause these funds to work much more efficiently.

Poverty in Israel is not beyond the abilities of the national government to repair. The process back to a progressive lifestyle for the people will take a large effort for all involved. But it could create a nation in which high human capital could prevent a slump like this from happening again.

Dubai has announced plans to open what will become the largest library in the Arab World in 2017.

At least 4.5 million books will be housed by the library, which is designed in the shape of an open book placed on an Arabic lectern.

The Mohammed Bin Rashid Library expects a crowd of nine million people from across the world to arrive each year.

In addition to traditional print books, the library will be stocked with two million electronic books and one million audiobooks. Visitors can also expect to see a cinema and a gallery within the library, where lectures, presentations and documentary screenings will be held. The library is expected to host 100 cultural events, Gulf Business reports.

His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, who announced the launch, said, “We are the leaders of civilization, duty and culture, and so we need to revive the spirit of learning and curiosity within our culture through innovative initiatives that push our boundaries.” Trade Arabia reports the launch came during the United Arab Emirates’ Year of Reading.

Sheikh Mohammed launched the Arab Reading Challenge in September 2015 to encourage 2.5 million students from 20,000 schools in Arab countries to read more. This library will promote that initiative with the aim of encouraging reading, supporting translation and documentation and preserving Arabic heritage and language.

This follows a 2012 report from the Arab Thought Foundation stating that Arab children read only “six minutes a year.”

A museum section housing various artifacts from the royal Al Maktoum family will be on display. It will also have Internet services and open reading spaces.

The library will include eight sections: children, youth, family, business, Arabic, international, popular and multimedia.

Gulf Business reports that the library hopes to translate 25,000 books into Arabic and print an additional one million books for schools and universities.

Construction work has begun on the seven-story tall building, which will be built with enough room for 2,600 visitors, reported The National.